Facebook’s heady vision for VR workplaces

The tech giant thinks you’ll soon be meeting in virtual workplaces, and using Oculus goggles to stay connected with your colleagues, in the new world of work.

Facebook's vision for the meeting room of the future, in Horizon Workrooms. Source: Supplied.

Workers can expect more meetings in virtual reality and in the work ‘metaverse’, according to Facebook’s Workplace vice president Julien Codorniou, who has bold visions for what the tech-enabled workplace of the future could look like post-pandemic.

Faecbook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has previously espoused the benefits of the ‘metaverse’ – an interconnected set of online virtual experiences – and the tech giant is now exploring how that concept could apply to the workplace.

The company recently debuted a new virtual reality app, Horizon Workrooms, that lets its users sit in a virtual conference room and take part in virtual work.

“The work metaverse is something that can be very interesting for Facebook, because of the amount of time people spend communicating, and the news ways of work that Covid has created,” Mr Codorniou said. “After lockdowns everything has changed, and virtual reality is an amazing way to reduce the distance.

“I think flexibility and putting technology at the service of employees is definitely something Facebook wants to go after, and Facebook Oculus Workrooms is made to reduce distance and make people feel part of the community and feel productivity.”

Supplied Editorial Facebook Workplace VP Julien Codorniou. Source: The Australian.

Mr Codorniou‘s prediction is that once most households have a pair of virtual reality goggles, more workers will be open to the idea of sitting in on virtual meetings and collaborating using physical devices like Facebook’s Oculus headsets.

“We‘ve already seen the likes of Nestle and Walmart use Oculus for training purposes for example, so the use cases will be wider than we have now. Things start with training, learning and development but we’ll move hopefully to collaboration.

“I would say the market shows that there is a competitive advantage and I think VR can be an important part of that story to help reduce distances between employees.”

The executive said that Facebook’s Workplace platform, which offers instant messaging, online collaboration, video conferencing and news sharing, has ballooned in popularity amid the pandemic. Its local clients include Domino’s, Bunnings, Freedom, NAB and Kathmandu. Globally, Facebook’s Workplace platform has about 7 million paying subscribers, up 40 per cent year-on-year.

Mr Codorniou, who has been with Facebook for a decade, pointed to research conducted by Facebook showing that three quarters (72 per cent) of workers said they felt just as connected or more connected to HQ than they did before the Covid pandemic.

“The pandemic, in a way, created a situation and created a market where everybody realises that the technology is important to keep your employees engaged, to keep them informed and to keep them motivated, and hopefully, when you do all of that you have a great culture, and that has a significant impact on employee sentiment, employee retention, your bottom line,” he said.

“Everything has changed, and it has created opportunities for companies like ours.”